Stir Up the Gift of God

Because Timothy was a man who had genuine faith in Jesus, Paul urged him in 2 Timothy 1:6-7:  "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  Paul had been instrumental in Timothy receiving the gift of God, the filling with the Holy Spirit Jesus promised to give to all who trust in Hm.  In addition to producing the fruit of the Spirit in the life of a born-again believer, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each one according to the will of God.  Paul reminded Timothy to "stir up the gift of God" that was in him without fear, the the Spirit He has given is of power, of love and of a sound mind.

Timothy was exhorted to stir up the gift of the Spirit as one fans coals that began to smolder back into flame.  The Holy Spirit provides the fuel to let the light of the Gospel shine before men through us, and it seems Timothy had neglected this or there was more he could do to that end.  When I think of stirring up things, one reason we do is to agitate and better incorporate every ingredient in a drink or dish.  Perhaps there were many ways Timothy could better incorporate the gift of God into his daily labour and activities.  Another way we commonly say something is "stirred up" is like when a crocodile goes from laying still and silent and suddenly goes into a death roll.  Crocodiles are masters of camouflage, lying still as a log until they violently stir up the water as they feed.  It may have been Timothy was fine for the gift of God to fly under the radar, camouflaged from the view of others out of fear they would not approve or understand.

The divine Holy Spirit God has given us is not a spirit of fear, but in stark contrast a Spirit of power and of love and sound mind.  The Holy Spirit empowers believers to be God's faithful, bold witnesses wherever He leads us and gives us supernatural ability we do not naturally possess.  God gives His people power to humble ourselves and to love others as Jesus loves us actively and sacrificially.  God's love is described in detail in 1 Corinthians 13 and demonstrated by Jesus in the manner of His life as He selflessly served others and by His death for lost sinners.  The Holy Spirit also gives us a sound mind, understanding and discernment of spiritual things we could not otherwise know.  God provides a circumspect perspective and sober-mindedness, the ability to identify and put off the works of the flesh while walking according to the leading of the Holy Spirit in holiness.

Christians have been given the Spirit of God that rested upon Jesus Christ as it was prophesied in Isaiah 11:1-2:  "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."  The fear of God frees us from the oppressive fear of man that would allow the gift of the Spirit to die down like a fire in the rain.  By fanning the flames of the Spirit of God by faith and obedience to Christ, we are led by God as it is written in Romans 8:14-15:  "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."  Having been born again we are adopted as sons of God, and thus we need reminding to stir up the gift of God to walk worthily of our glorious Saviour.